Blue, Green lines top 1 million rides in July

More than 1 million rides were taken on both the METRO Blue and Green lines last month, pushing total ridership through the end of July to nearly 49.4 million.

Ridership on all modes — local and express buses, Northstar and light rail — is up nearly 5 percent compared to the first seven months of 2014.

Nearly 1.1 million rides were taken on the METRO Green Line last month — the third time monthly ridership has surpassed the 1 million ride mark since the line opened last June. Last month's average weekday ridership was 37,654, about 20 percent higher than last July.

There have been nearly 6.7 million Green Line rides through the end of July, and nearly 13.2 million rides since service began last year.

The METRO Blue Line also topped 1 million rides in July — the first time ridership has surpassed that mark since August 2011 and just the fifth time it’s done so since the line opened in 2004. Average weekday ridership was 33,859 in July, up nearly 8 percent from last year.

Around 6.1 million Blue Line rides were taken through the end of July, a 12 percent increase over last year. Just a decade after service began, the Blue Line surpassed 100 million total rides in December 2014.

In 2014, Metro Transit provided 84.5 million rides, the highest ridership in more than three decades.

“We’re elated, but not surprised, that residents and visitors continue to enjoy traveling by light rail,” General Manager Brian Lamb said. “We look forward to building on this success and continuing to introduce new riders to all the advantages transit has to offer.”